Tucked away in Waterloo Lane is a stylish new communal workplace for meeting and working. The Culture Lounge offers both community and functionality. Emily Moore reports
ANYONE who frequented Project 52 will probably remember a dimly lit space, resplendent with rich velvet textures, leather surfaces and a tempting cocktail menu.
And if that is your memory of the former speakeasy-style bar, hidden away down a little-used lane in the centre of town, you will be in for something of a surprise if you enter that same building today.
Indeed, the members’ club and bar are no more, having been replaced with a space whose aesthetics could scarcely be more different in style.
“Our vision was to create a space which was functional, yet sophisticated and beautiful,” explained The Cultured Lounge general manager Georgia Sillcock. “The idea was to combine elements of Scandinavian and Japanese design to form a clean and calming environment which is conducive to working.”
Describing the co-working events and meeting space as somewhere “aligned with the sophistication of London”, the former sports teacher says that the facility, which opened its doors in March, is attracting both budding entrepreneurs and long-established corporate businesses.
“We worked with Pebble Interiors to create a workspace which feels like an elevated version of home,” said Georgia. “With shared workspaces becoming increasingly common, we felt that there was tremendous potential for somewhere exclusive where people could feel calm and productive.
“Digital Jersey and Santander do an amazing job providing shared workspaces, but we wanted to create an elevated space for a clientele whose values align with our focus on aesthetics, exclusivity and the confidentiality that our hidden space provides.”
The need for such a space, she added, had been driven by a number of factors including the Island’s increasingly diverse population and changing work habits, many of which stem from the Covid pandemic.
“A lot of people who have moved to the Island from a cosmopolitan city are looking for that sophisticated working environment,” she said. “Similarly, a lot of people travel to cities for their work, and when they are in Jersey, they want a space which replicates the sophisticated shared workspaces they have found in London or elsewhere.
“We are also seeing a lot of young people who have founded their own businesses and are looking for an exclusive community to join. Since Covid, there has been a real increase in people setting up their own enterprises but while many people were excited by the novelty of working from home during the pandemic, that isolation is starting to have a long-term effect on people’s mental health.
“For people who are not ready to invest in, or do not need, permanent business premises, The Cultured Lounge gives them that flexibility, enabling them to work from home some days, while benefiting from the sense of community and feeling of belonging that comes from being in a shared space at other times.”
And it is not just company from which Georgia says people benefit by spending some time in the Waterloo Lane venue.
“Because we have such an array of members here, people are naturally networking and collaborating with one another,” she explained. “People might have a chat while making themselves a drink and, as they find out about each other’s enterprises, they find scope to work together or support one another. It’s become a really nice space for sharing stories and building relationships.”
While the first floor offers two open-plan spaces, with different styles and configurations of tables and chairs, as well as a kitchen, the second floor features both a boardroom and individual desks and lockers, where premium members can keep paperwork or equipment on site.
“The boardroom can be booked by members or by any business looking for a space to hold a meeting or coaching session,” said Georgia. “It is also a popular space for recruitment interviews, as it is more discreet than meeting at the office of a prospective new employer or in a public space.”
Being able to offer the use of such facilities also, she says, helps companies to attract staff.
“While the space is great for new entrepreneurs, it is also very attractive to more traditional companies which are trying to recruit younger staff members,” she added. “Some companies encourage hybrid working and, by adding this to their corporate package, they are giving those staff members who don’t want to work from home an exciting alternative workspace.”
To bring that “productive yet calming environment” to life, Georgia worked with the design team at Pebble, who she says did an “amazing job of elevating the brief and incorporating the right colours and textures to create an inspirational space”.
“The key was to combine the functionality of Scandinavian design with the calmness of Japanese interiors to give people a dedicated space where they could fulfil their goals,” she said.
As she reflects on that brief, Georgia is happy that The Cultured Lounge has achieved that goal. But the former Jersey Jets netballer and her team are not ready to sit back and relax just yet.
“The first couple of months have been really exciting and it’s been great for me to meet innovative, forward-thinking and like-minded people who are trying to push the boundaries in their line of work,” she said. “People who commit to working in a space like this have not just committed to taking their business to the next level but are also really trying to elevate Jersey.
“Coming from a teaching background, it’s also been really exciting to manage all the different aspects involved with starting a business and to have that creative outlet which I had always wanted. It’s been a very challenging few months but it’s also been tremendously rewarding.
“We have a very exciting five-year plan, which we are now beginning to implement, and while many of those plans are still under wraps, we are about to start work on a really thrilling project.”
That initiative, she explains, will see The Cultured Lounge team step outside the building to start regenerating the lane, which they have recently purchased.
“Waterloo Lane is a beautiful historical road, but its condition has sadly deteriorated over the years,” she said. “We want to regenerate the area in a way which maintains its historical integrity. To that end, we are working with Jersey Heritage and a team of architects and archaeologists to find a way of maintaining the lane’s historic cobbled surface, while bringing something new, but complementary, to the space.
“At the moment, when people walk into The Cultured Lounge, they are wowed not only by the interiors but by the contrast with the road they have just left. By renovating the road and creating a community space, similar to those you see in London such as ‘the umbrella street’ near Borough Market or the ‘lantern streets’ in China Town, we can create a really beautiful road, which will add even more charm to both this part of St Helier and The Cultured Lounge.”
